Clare Archer-Lean completed her Honours thesis on Mudrooroo at Queensland University of Technology in 1996. She had studied for her BA at the University of New England. She has lectured on film and literature at the University of New England's Brisbane campus.
Archer-Lean joined the University of the Sunshine Coast's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in July 2008, where she has been a lecturer in English. She remains a faculty member (now discipline leader of English Literature) as of 2018.
